Bad Things, Good People

Though he would be amused to hear it, Benedict of Nursia (480-540) is one of the founders of what we now call Europe. Benedict spent most of his life trying to avoid civilization – whether of the decadent Romans or of the brutish Goths – but he established what would become the cultural engine of Europe for the next thousand years.

His hometown in Italian is called Norcia, and every church in it has been leveled by earthquake, including the basilica which is said to have been built over his birthplace.